yellow - grayson dolan | © 2018

Twenty

Today was the baby shower. We found out in January that we were having a little boy. Grayson was so excited. Also, Nicole, Jess, & I became very close and hung out almost daily. Around two weeks after Nicole and Ethan went on their first date, they started dating. They were perfect for each other and i was happy for Ethan. He finally had someone to light up his life a bit.

We decided we were going to name the baby, Daniel Oliver Dolan. His due date was July twelfth. I currently looked like I was going to pop, but with the help of Jess and Nicole, I found a cute outfit for the shower. We found a baby blue off the shoulder flowy dress and I paired it with some basic sandals.

***

"Get up Gray!" I shouted in the kitchen. I was already ready and he was still soundly sleeping. We were having the shower at Jess' parents house so we could use their huge backyard.

When I sat down, I was going through my camera roll and saw pictures of Emily and I from my birthday last year. I felt a rush of sadness instantly take over my body. I missed her so much. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her. She would've helped me so much through the pregnancy. She was so beautiful. It sucks that such amazing, sweet people are the ones who leave this world too early. She deserved so much better.

Before I drove to Jess' parents, I decided to stop by Emily and my parent's graves. They were all right next to each other. I got each of them a yellow rose. Yellow roses send a message of appreciation and platonic love without the romantic subtext of other colors. I felt my eyes well up with tears and decided it was time to go. I then got in my Jeep and headed to Jess'.

It was already eleven a.m. by the time I got there and the decorations were already all set up.

"Mrs. Jones this is amazing!" I went up and hugged her.

"Hey, I helped too!" Jess laughed and we also hugged. The shower was starting at twelve so we finished up some final touches. Nicole finally arrived and began helping us as well. It was eleven-forty five by the time we finished and we decided to go inside and wait for the guests.

"So, Lauren, how are things with you and Grayson?" Mrs. Jones asked.

"They're really great, I mean, we do have a baby on the way." I laughed.

"Mom, oh my God." Jess said.

"What?" She had a confused face. All four of us started laughing. Once all the guests arrived, which mostly consisted of women from my office, we started opening gifts.

In approximation, Daniel got twenty-five outfits, twenty bottles, ten pacifiers, and some rattles. I didn't ask for anything big, like a crib or a pack-and-play because Grayson and I were handling that.

***

Once everyone left Jess, Nicole and I cleaned up and packed all the gifts into a big box I could easily take back to the apartment.

"Thanks guys, I literally would not have been able to handle all of this on my own." I said while hugging them both.

"It's no problem, we just can't wait for that sweet little boy to pop out already." Nicole said.

"Yeah, anything for my godson." Jess winked and I lightly slapped her shoulder. When I got back to the apartment, Gray was just sitting on the couch watching tv.

When he heard the door open, he swiftly got up and grabbed the box out of my arms. He then pecked my lips and sat the box on the table.

"How was it?" He hugged me.

"It was great, Jess and Nicole did such a great job." I smiled.

"That's good. Do you want me to take this into the nursery?" He asked.

"If you don't mind." I kissed his cheek. He then picked the box back up and walked into the nursery.
Grayson was the perfect boyfriend. He was always so helpful and he never complained. We hardly argued, and even if we did, it was over small things and we usually got over it pretty quickly.

I then walked into our room and wanted to change my clothes. I changed into a very oversized hoodie and some grey sweatpants. I then loosely tied my hair into a messy bun and removed all my makeup.

I walked back into the living room and Grayson was in the kitchen making a sandwich. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his back. He then stopped what he was doing and turned around and picked me up.

"Grayson, put me down!" I whined while laughing.

"Okay." He winked and set me down on the counter. Then he pulled the sweatshirt up to where you could see my belly and started kissing it.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you way more." He said in a cocky, but cute tone.

"Not even possible." I smirked.

***